Voice of the people (letter).

Probe Story Unfair

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some purpose other than the edification of readers lurked behind the unfair article by Mary Jacoby (Main news, Feb. 9) about the campaign finances of Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.).

The article falsely insinuated that a new "investigation" of the senator's campaign finances is under way and claimed the senator's characterization of Federal Election Commission audit findings was somehow at odds with the facts. In fact, the senator repeatedly had made clear that characterizations of the audit findings were hers and not the commission's. She emphatically stressed that point during a half-hour interview with Ms. Jacoby.

Ironically, the senator's belief that the audit essentially gave the campaign a clean bill of health was at one time shared by Ms. Jacoby. Her byline was on a May 8, 1996, story under the headline "U.S. audit clears Moseley-Braun." That story began, "A long-awaited federal audit of Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun's historic but troubled 1992 campaign appears to have largely exonerated her. . . ."

Those and other published accounts at the time the audit was released reported that the Moseley-Braun campaign anticipated that no fine would be imposed, but they noted that the election commission review was not complete.

The detailed audit dated May 7 that was sent to some of the senator's supporters explicitly stated that "the commission may pursue any of the matters discussed in this report in an enforcement action." How Ms. Jacoby now interprets such full disclosure as an attempt to mislead is as baffling as the Tribune's decision to present as news the information that was on the public record eight months ago.

The senator remains pleased that the federal auditors uncovered no serious violations, that her campaign has not been fined and that the fine-tooth-comb review by the federal auditors enabled her campaign to clarify imperfections in the financial disclosure reports.

The senator also expects and welcomes close scrutiny of her campaign by enterprising but fair journalists. The senator only wishes Ms. Jacoby and her colleagues would pay as much or more attention to the substantive issues she is pursuing as a senator on matters ranging from making our schools better to protecting our environment.